Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Long-bracted spiderwort

LONG-BRACTED SPIDERWORT

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Tradescantia bracteata Small

Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 4-12 inches

Family: Commelinaceae - Spiderwort Family

Flowering Period: May, June, July

Also Called:

Bracted spiderwort.

Stems:

Erect, stout, rarely branched, glabrous or sparsely hairy; nodes 2-4; internodes to 8 inches.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, linear-lanceolate, 3 to 12 inches long, 1/3 to 2/3 inch wide, glabrous or sparsely soft-hairy at base, parallel veined, rarely folded; margins entire.

Inflorescences:

Cyme, umbel-like, few- to many-flowered, terminal on main stem; bracts large, leafy, 2 to 12 inches long, glabrous to soft-hairy; folded lengthwise, curving downward, often longer and wider than leaves.

Flowers:

Stalks densely soft-hairy, sepals 3, elliptic, pointed, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, soft-hairy, margins sometimes purple; corollas 1 to 1.5 inch wide, blue, purple, or rose; petals 3, stamens 6, filaments densely bearded.

Fruits:

Capsules, rounded; seeds 2-6, flattened, gray.

Habitat:

Moist prairies, roadsides, and disturbed sites.

Distribution:

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Uses:

The young stems and leaves can be used raw in salads or cooked as a food seasoning. The Lakota made a jelly-like blue paint from the flowers, which was used for decorative purposes.

Comments:

Tradescantia is named for John Tradescant, gardener for Charles the First of England in the 17th century.

Three other spiderworts are observed in Kansas: common spiderwort , prairie spiderwort , and Tharps' spiderwort .

Long bracted spiderwort